Cap or closure for milk bottles



NOV. 19, 1935. v v KLOSS 2,021,662

, CAP OR CLOSURE FOR MILK BOTTLES Filed Jan. 30, 1955 Him. W ifnl lmm Ell/6782604 Zmasm. 154 065,- 7

Patented Nov. 19, 1935 U N- l T ED STATES FATENT OFFICE CAP R CLOSURE FOR MILK BOTTLES Vitalis M. Kloss, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application January 30, 1935, Serial No. 4,170

2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in caps or closures: for milk bottles and other receptacles.

Closures or caps for milk bottles have been made heretofore of stiff, heavy paper discs or of cardboard, suitably waterproofed, some of which have been provided with a flap or other device which may be grasped between the thumb and finger to aid in removing the closure. In cases where nothing but a fiat disc is provided it is necessary to pry up the edge of the disc by means 'of a knife or other instrument, or to insert the point of a sharp instrument into the disc at an angle thereto and lift it off its seat. These makeshift methods are inconvenient and frequently result in causing the milk to spurt out or splash over the edge of the bottle.

In my prior Patent No. 1,638,207, issued August 9, 1927, I have disclosed a stopper for milk bottles and the like, formed from a blank made of stiff material and having a central rib made by folding the material, the ends of the rib being inclined and the stopper as a whole, when Viewed from above, being exactly circular in form.

My present improvement is directed to insuring a. closer fit between the cap and the ledge or seat within the neck of the bottle against the wall of which said cap is pressed. By reason of this tighter fit, particularly in the region of the opposite ends of the rib, the milk cannot work its way into the crease between the two sides of the folded rib and ooze out the ends.

The general object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a container cap of stiff material, folded to form an upstanding rib and of such shape as to cause the ends of the rib to be pressed tightly together to prevent any possible leakage.

A contributory object is to provide a folded cap of this character which is circular in plane View except for small enlargements at opposite ends of said rib. 1

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated one embodiment of the invention in which:

Fig. 1 is a plane view of the blank;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof partly folded;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the cap in the folded position in which it is used;

Fig. 4 is an elevation thereof;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a milk bottle with the cap in place; and I Fig. 6 is an elevation of the bottle with the upper part shown in section.

The blank, indicated as a whole by reference numeral IE], is stamped or cut from paper or paste board of the necessary thickness and may be waterproofed, if desired. It has two substantially semi-circular end portions l l which terminate in small enlargements 12, preferably following the arc of a circle of smaller radius 1" than the radius R of the end portions themselves. A bend or fold is to be formed along the line [3, 5 and two other folds, in opposite directions, are to be made along the parallel lines M, which lines intersect the smaller arcs referred to. The middle portion of the blank on opposite sides thereof, is out out somewhat or preferably made 10 concave between the two enlargements E2 on each side, as shown in Fig, 1.

When the blank is folded along the three lines indicated two narrow parallel panels l5 are formed on opposite sides of the fold or crease 15 which is made along the line l3, and these two panels, when brought together, form a vertical or upstanding rib of double thickness, as shown in Fig. 6, the manner of folding being clearly indicated in Fig. 2, in which the panels I5, or op- 20 posite sides of the rib, have not yet been brought into contact with each other.

Fig. 3 shows a top plan View of the cap with the sides of the rib in contact with each other in the position they normally occupy when in use 25 or when the rib is seized between the finger and thumb, thus causing the disc to present the appearance of substantially a perfect circle, except for the rounded enlargements l2 at opposite ends of said rib. In side elevation the ends of 30 the ribs are inclined, as shown at l6.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a conventional form of milk bottle I? having the usual inner ledge or seat I8, on which the cap rests, being a tight fit within the neck of the bottle and pressing against the vertical inner wall thereof. When the cap is forced into place, the enlargements l2 cause an additional compression along the folded rib, thus squeezing the ends of said folded rib tightly together as shown at E9 in Fig. 5, and preventing the leakage of even a minute quantity of milk or cream through the crease along the bottom of the cap and out through the folded ends.

The cap is removed, as in the case of my prior patent, merely by seizing the rib and pulling upwardly on the same. After the bottle has been partly emptied the cap may be restored and reused with equal effectiveness.

While said cap has been described more particularly in connection with a milk bottle, it may 50 obviously be used with other types of containers.

I claim:

1. A bottle closure comprising a disc formed of stiff material and provided with a transverse rib folded up from the material of said disc, and 55 enlargements on the periphery of said disc at the ends of said rib to increase the tightness of the fit when said disc is forced to its seat within the bottle neck.

2. A milk bottle stopper formed from a single piece of stifi material and comprising two semicircular portions and an intermediate rib-forming portion connected by curved enlargements at the periphery, said intermediate portion having folding creases, one extending centrally thereof and two others located on opposite sides of said central crease at the junction of said intermediate portion with said semi-circular portions, said creases adapting said intermediate portion to be folded to form an upstanding rib, and said semi-circular portions to be brought into a substantially complete circular arrangement, the ends of the said intermediate portion being concave whereby the ends of said rib will be downwardly inclined and joined to the terminal lines of said semi-circular portions.

VITALIS M. KLOSS. 

